Business / Billionaires

Dwayne Johnson Rocks Highest Paid Actors List 2016

The actor formerly known by his wrestling sobriquet The Rock has been certified as the world’s highest paid actor.

Aug 26, 2016 | By Staff Writer

Whatever Dwayne Johnson’s cooking up in terms of deals, it smells sweet. The actor formerly known by his wrestling sobriquet The Rock has been certified as the world’s highest paid actor, according to the usual suspects at Forbes. He topped the earnings list with $64.5 million in 2016, more than double his takings in 2015.

Altogether, the world’s highest paid actors (this list is male-only, we’ll get to the females in a separate story) made a combined $703.5 million, between June 1, 2015 and June 1 2016. That’s before management fees and taxes, in case you care to know.

As far as international cinema goes, Jackie Chan flies the flag for Hong Kong and China with $61 million, putting him in second place. Bollywood has a number of representatives here, including the legendary Amitabh Bachchan but leading the way is Shah Rukh Khan in eight place with $33 million.

At number 20, Harrison Ford is the oldest member of the high rollers’ club (he’s 74) and the only actor returning to the list after failing to make the cut last time. The youngest guy on this list is the 37-year-old Chris Pratt.

The two most controversial figures on the list are undoubtedly Salman Khan, convicted of a hit-and-run in 2002 (his prison sentence was suspended), and Johnny Depp, accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife Amber Heard (they settled and she donated all the money).

By far the most irritating figure on the list must be Adam Sandler, whose deal with Netflix allows him to beam his brand of comedy directly into people’s homes.

The full Forbes list is below.

1. Dwayne Johnson ($64.5 million)

2. Jackie Chan ($61 million)

3. Matt Damon ($55 million)

4. Tom Cruise ($53 million)

5. Johnny Depp ($48 million)

6. Ben Affleck ($43 million)

7. Vin Diesel ($35 million)

8. Shah Rukh Khan ($33 million)

8. Robert Downey Jr. ($33 million)

10. Akshay Kumar ($31.5 million)

10. Brad Pitt ($31.5 million)

12. Adam Sandler ($30 million)

12. Mark Wahlberg ($30 million)

14. Salman Khan ($28.5 million)

15. Leonardo Dicaprio ($27 million)

16. Chris Pratt ($26 million)

17. Will Smith ($20.5 million)

18. Amitabh Bachchan ($20 million)

19. Matthew McConaughey ($18 million)

20. Harrison Ford ($15 million)


 
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